Desolation
by whenthewallscomecrashingdown
Summary: The post-war world is in a state of desolation-especially the Pureblood community. As Astoria Greengrass struggles with the memories of the past she can't help but be intrigued by a certain grey-eyed boy, who may or may not need her help.
1. The Engagment Party

"Astoria!" The magically enhanced voice of her mother resounded throughout the vast Greengrass manor, seeping into every crevice and scaring all the living creatures inhabiting the grounds of the estate.

Astoria Greengrass flinched, unhappy about being forced viciously back to reality from the novel she was reading. She shoved the book under her bed, sighed, and threw her long, dark hair over her shoulder, standing up resignedly. She ventured over to the door of her bedroom, clenching her jaw in anticipation for what was to come.

"Yes, mother?" She called into the immense space.

"Drawing room." Her mother's voice, at a lower volume this time, but still reverberating through the house, directed strictly. "Now. The guests will be arriving shortly."

She had almost forgotten. Astoria glanced at the tall grandfather clock in the hallway, ready to chime on the hour. In just fifteen minutes her home would be infiltrated by a bunch of ancestry-obsessed, gossiping nuisances.

She hurried down the hallway knowing the longer she took, the more impatient her mother would get. "Curse my short legs." She thought to herself frantically, attempting to lengthen her stride to get to her destination faster.

"Astoria!" Her mother's voice called again, impatiently.

"I'm here, mother." She said breathlessly, wincing at the beginnings of blisters beginning to emerge on her feet. Damn the silver high heeled shoes Daphne had forced her into.

"Of course, dear." Her mother said, barely looking up at Astoria's frantic entrance. Her mother stood in the center of the room, turning around slowly to make sure that everything was in its place: the curtains hung in front of the windows, blocking out all traces of the warm sun, tea was on the short, dark coffee table in the center of the room, ready to be served the moment the guests flooed in through the fireplace. Astoria could almost hear her mother's mental checklist. Dark room? Check. Tea? Check. Unwanted daughter? Check.

Astoria stood beside her mother silently; waiting for some kind of acknowledgement of her presence, knowing it was only time before her mother moved down the list to her next priority: Astoria's looks. And sure enough, her mother did not disappoint.

"Oh, darling," her mother said disapprovingly, shaking her blond head. The terms of endearment held a slightly sarcastic tone with her youngest daughter. 'Dear' and 'darling' often escaped her lips sounding like a curse.

Astoria mentally rolled her eyes as her mother began to inspect the gown she had on. Curling up in bed with a good book seemed to have wrinkled the once-perfectly-pressed dress, giving off the impression of "sloppiness" that was "distasteful for a young lady of her calibre."

"Now, Astoria," her mother said disapporivingly, drawing her wand, "a young lady of your calibre must not prance around in a wrinkled dress. Your future husband will most likely be attending this party tonight—or at least, one of his family members." Her mother added as an afterthought.

Astoria bit her lip to keep from retorting. It was Pureblood tradition that women get married early in life. When she was younger she took that fact for granted thinking that when she was eighteen or nineteen she would feel grown up and more mature. She wasn't. True, she had seen things that her eleven-year-old-self could even imagine in her wildest nightmares, but she still felt like herself.

It hadn't helped matters when Daphne got engaged just under a month ago. The infamous loner-boy Theodore Nott finally settling down! It was Pureblood gossip for _ages_. In fact, that was the reason for the party tonight. An engagement party. And Astoria was next.

Astoria was saved from the desire to express her feelings when none other than her sister flooed into the house, accompanied by her fiancé.

"Mother! Astoria! So lovely to see you!" Daphne Greengrass (soon to be Nott) stepped out of the fireplace, kissing both of them on each cheek; Theodore followed behind her, silently greeting his future in-laws with a quick kiss on their cheeks.

Daphne had inherited her mother's blond hair and clear blue eyes. Her curvy figure and short stature made her appealing to boys of all ages, ever since the girls were younger. Her personality was surprisingly pleasant for a Slytherin—she had a certain kindness about her that even though was often faked, was craved by her close friends. Nothing she said was ever sarcastic and she was either a very good liar or she always twisted her words to make her compliments sound genuine.

"Daphne!" Priscilla Greengrass greeted her favourite daughter lovingly, squeezing her hands. "Theodore! It's been so long."

Astoria resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. Her sister had left an hour ago to fetch her fiancée, and they had just seen Theodore a few days ago for wedding preparations.

Soon after Daphne and Theodore's arrival, the fireplace became a vessel for the constant stream of high society guests. Each person entered, giving the standard kiss-kiss greeting, and entered the Greengrass Manor, careful not to leave ashy footprints on the ground or face the wrath of Priscilla.

Astoria found herself extremely bored, standing in a corner, thinking about what a shame it was that this beautiful gown had gone to waste on such unworthy company. She caught her reflection in the mirror above the fireplace, satisfactorily looking at the young woman who stared back at her. With a flick of her mother's wand, the wrinkles had vanished and the emerald colored satin flowed all the way down to the ground from the deep v-neck neckline. Her dark hair hung straightly down her back, looking healthy and shiny and her hazel eyes seemed more of a green color yet they held a look of extreme boredom.

The high heels were still uncomfortable, and the irony was not lost on Astoria that even though she was sorted into Ravenclaw, here she was, at her sister's engagement party, dressed in Slytherin colours. Astoria found herself wishing that these people would just leave her home so that she could go back upstairs to her roomy bedroom and curl up with her book again.

Astoria glanced around the room, noting that many of the prominent Pureblood families had attended the engagement celebration. Adrian Pucey and his wife Veronica were in a corner, chatting with Blaise Zabini and his fiancée Tracey Davis. Tracy's older brother Derrick had his arm wrapped around his very pregnant wife, Daene, and countless other Pureblood couples mingled and chatted amongst each other, probably thinking vindictive thoughts about each other inside the private sectors of their minds. Oh, how Astoria sometimes wished to be gifted at Occlumency, just to relieve some of the boredom of these events.

All the men at this party were taken, Astoria noted with a look of disdain. Now that she thought about it, this was probably the plan. To increase Daphne and Theodore' social circle from school chums and exes to ex school chums and their significant others. They'll probably start a couple's book club or something just as ridiculous.

Astoria snorted to herself at the thought of her sister in a book club. While Astoria had been sorted in Ravenclaw and adored reading, Daphne had been sorted into Slytherin and adored...well…boys. Amongst other things—gossiping, shopping, and flirting.

It was a wonder how the two girls were even related: with such vastly different personalities one might even find it easier to count up their similarities: they both had the same last name, (though that won't last for too long), the same shaped eyes, and the same gait.

It was then that Astoria noticed that she was not the only person standing alone at this function. To her right, across the room, stood Draco Malfoy, looking impassively at all the people assembled around him, his cold grey eyes unemotional, his arms crossed over his chest in a defense posture, his mouth in a tight line.

Standing next to him was his mother, Narcissa. Astoria realised that Draco's protective stance did not only protect himself, but his mother whom he was shielding from the rest of the room by standing slightly in front of her, almost daring anyone to come up and make a polite conversation with them. Merlin only knew where Lucius Malfoy was.

Immediately after the war the Malfoys had tried to make amends with the Ministry. They pleaded and manipulated and cunningly defended themselves, weaving their way out of trouble. They still had a hefty amount of fines to pay, but no one in their immediate family was sent to Azkaban, which was more that could be said for the rest of the Pureblood families.

So now the Malfoys were an outcast to both worlds: certainly not on the heroes' side, they weren't fully accepted by all the other Purebloods either—not after the way the escaped punishment like the rest of them.

Astoria's own family had not been involved in the war, not having been influential enough for Voldemort to care about them, so they laid low, biding their time, keeping their heads down as the waited out the effects of his treachery.

But the war had still affected Astoria, as she will always remember thanks to a sliver of a scar situated just above her shoulder blade, a slim, thin line with a slight curve to it—the cause of this scar will never be forgotten.

Having enough of her silent solitude, Astoria nodded at her mother's disapproving glance, moving around the room to smile at the awful people. She made her way slowly to the Malfoys, who were still alone. They seemed to be having some kind of wordless communication through their eyes and Astoria felt a slight pang of sadness—she had never been able to communicate without words to someone else. She wondered vaguely what it would be like as she approached them.

"Good evening, Draco, Mrs. Malfoy." She said politely, smiling her civil smile, one that conveyed a pleasing emotion without showing all her teeth. "Is there something I can get you?"

She felt her mother's eyes glaring two holes into her back. It was common knowledge that no one talk to the Malfoys. They were invited to these things, and attended them, only out of habitual action. Their presence was neither welcomed nor disputed, leaving the only reaction to ignore them.

Narcissa's eyes flashed incredulously to Astoria's face, trying to determine if this was some kind of joke. She glanced at her son unsurely, and Astoria turned to face Draco.

His cold grey eyes study her intently, as if testing her or trying to decide if she was posing some kind of threat to his family. Seeing nothing but a mask of happiness, he shook his head curtly. "No, thank you."

He kept his face and tone of voice completely emotionless-in fact, if Astoria would put a wager on the fact that the composed mask of his face had not lifted once: he never smiled, nor did he frown, or squint or do anything that would put the muscles of his face to use.

Fleetingly, Astoria wondered if he would even get wrinkles as he grew older, with such an impassive face would wrinkles ever set in? She banished the thought quickly from her mind, deciding it a foolish waste of her time to think about Draco Malfoy's future face and his lack of wrinkles.

"Could I possibly offer you a chair?" She offered in a falsely bright tone.

But before either Malfoy's could reply to her generous offer (no doubt to coldly but politely decline the offer of a chair) Priscilla Greengrass made her way over.

"Come, Astoria," she said with authority, "there is a man I'd like you to meet. Stephen Cornfoot, I'm sure you've heard of him." Priscilla smiled tightly at the Malfoys, leading her daughter away from them.

Astoria sighed as her mother dragged her over to the tall, blond haired, brown eyed boy in the corner.

"Stephen this is my daughter, Astoria. I understand that you were both in Ravenclaw together, though I believe Astoria might have been a few years behind you!" Her mother subtlety hinted with the grace of a Pureblood, high-society woman, but Astoria had the feeling that Stephen Cornfoot could see right through her.

"Astoria," he greeted in a deep, pleasingly husky voice, "I believe we've met a few times." He winks at her and her mother practically beams behind her. "It is a pleasure to see you again."

Astoria sucked in a breath, wishing she were anywhere but here in this particular moment. "It's absolutely lovely to see you again, but unfortunately I'm feeling unwell." She lied, a brilliant idea striking her. Her mother's fingernails dig into her skin and it's all Astoria can do not to cry out in pain. "However, maybe I will see you again soon at one of these _lovely_ events?" She offered her hand out politely as a goodbye gesture.

Stephen chuckled discreetly at her sarcasm and kissed her proffered hand. "I would be delighted."

Astoria's stomach fluttered lightly and she felt like slapping herself. Merlin, she couldn't fall for every guy that came around, kissing her hand and wishing to see her again.

She turned around, heading in the direction of the doorway, eager to escape this prison-like drawing room.

"Young lady," her mother hissed in her ear, "where do you think you're going."

"Mother, I am not feeling well. I am going to my room." She said defiantly.

"You feel just fine!" her mother chastised immediately. "Now go back to your sister's engagement party and—"

"I hate to miss the rest of Daphne's party, truly I do," Astoria lied through her teeth, "but I already told Stephen that I was feeling under the weather. I think he might actually like me and I don't want him to think I was lying to him….in fact maybe a little game of playing hard to get might entice him a little bit more." She embellished on her lie, feeling inspired.

She wondered for a quick moment how she wasn't placed in Slytherin, then discarded the thought as quickly as she thought of it.

Her mother's resolve weakened. "Alright, go up to your room. Don't come down again until everyone is gone." Priscilla threatened.

Astoria happily obeyed, whipping around and all but sprinting out of the drawing room. As soon as she was released from the room, she bent down, ripping the high heels off her feet and jogging in the direction of her bedroom, enjoying the feel of the cold tile against her aching feet.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadow, catching her off guard. Draco Malfoy stepped out of the loo, looking as impassive as ever. His face was still unemotional even as she skidded to a stop less than a metre away from him, startled by his sudden appearance. But his eyes held a strange, haunted emotion. They held eye contact for a long moment before he walked around her and went back into the drawing room.

Astoria hurried up to her bedroom at a slower pace than before, still contemplating the dead look in his grey eyes.

Though she tried to get back into her novel again, she could never seem to quite concentrate on the words on the pages of her book, instead preferring to contemplate exactly what shade of grey his eyes were and the events that lead to the cold, dead look in his eyes. The look of desolation.

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><p><strong>AN: So, I must admit: this idea has been fluttering around in my head for ages. I usually write Rose/Scorpius and I just couldn't resist thinking about Scorpius's parents and their relationship...and then I sat down and typed this up and I feel incredibly relieved.**

**So this is my first Draco/Astoria fic which I am really excited about.**

**I know...I know...for those of you that have read my other stories: I put Guarded on hiatus because of my ridiculous amount of "in progress" works. But i'm working on the third chapter of that right now as you read and my muse just really wanted me to do this fic.**

**I hope you enjoy, let me know what you think,**

**~wwccd**


	2. The Dress Fitting

The grandfather clock tolled again.

_One. Two. Three._ Three tolls, Astoria counted to herself exasperatedly. She rolled over in bed for what felt like the millionth time that evening. She just couldn't seem to get comfortable and every time she felt close to sleep, the damned clock would chime and she'd be wide awake again.

She sat up, fluffed her pillow again, and closed her eyes once more. First, she was warm, and then she was cool, her cat, Marse, kept mewing at her every time she opened and closed the window with a bang.

It didn't help that every time she closed her eyes she saw his grey haunted orbs. She had been two years behind Draco Malfoy at Hogwarts and before the war all of her knowledge of him was strictly based off of rumors and whatever her sister, Daphne, deemed interesting enough to repeat at the dinner table during the holidays.

So, in short, all Astoria knew of Draco Malfoy during her school years was that he dated Pansy Parkinson for most of his Hogwarts years, he was Severus Snape's favorite student, he bought his way onto the Slytherin Quidditch team, though he wasn't a terrible seeker, his parents were death eaters, and he was a death eater.

But those were all things of the past. The Malfoys had disappeared off of the face of the earth after the Battle of Hogwarts. They sat quietly as people celebrated the deaths of their friends, they testified against their acquaintances in court, they paid their debts to society, and they tried their hardest to just blend in.

The large white, albino peacocks that usually roamed their manor were gone, in fact so was most of the furniture from their manor. They had auctioned off most of their belongings to pay off their debts. It seemed that they wanted to get rid of everything that reminded them of their previous life. But these were all things that Astoria had learned from her mother's gossiping friends whenever they came over, so she didn't know how valid these assessments of the Malfoy family were.

Astoria sighed and banged her head against her pillow. She should be asleep. She shouldn't be up until three in the morning thinking about Draco Malfoy and his family, no matter how despaired he looked. She didn't even know him. She didn't even want to know him.

Astoria worried briefly about the effects her current state of insomnia might have on the following day and sighed again. Her mother would berate her for having dark circles under her eyes, her father probably wouldn't even notice; Daphne wouldn't care as long as the circles were gone by the wedding.

The wedding. Maybe that's why she couldn't sleep. She was to be maid of honour. It was a ridiculous gesture, as the sisters rarely ever got along. In fact, Astoria was certain that there were many other, better candidates to be her sister's maid of honour, but her mother had insisted.

The dress fitting is tomorrow, today, Astoria mentally corrected herself. Daphne had chosen atrocious bridesmaid dresses. They were knee length, peach coloured, and ruffled. Astoria cringed just thinking of them and swore to herself that were she ever to get married (though it was highly unlikely) she would never subject her bridesmaids to wearing any sort of ruffled, sequined, or strange colouerd monstrosity. She had much too self respect for that. When she got married she wouldn't feel so insecure about her own looks that she would try to make everybody else look bad…

"Astoria!"

Her mother's voice resounded throughout the mansion again and Astoria blinked groggily. She felt like she hadn't slept at all. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, trying to see straight.

"Dress fitting is in five minutes!" Her mother's voice screeched at her.

Astoria winced. Being so tired made you sensitive to things such as sound, something her mother never seemed to understand.

"Be right down mother!" She croaked.

She padded across her room, glancing in the mirror on her way out. She was right, the dark circles under eyes would be almost impossible to hide.

"Astoria!"

Honestly, her mother was so impatient. By the time Astoria entered the room, her mother would already be onto the next thing, not even needing Astoria for another half an hour. It irritated her to no end; why should she have to stand and watch her mother get things ready? She could be reading, or sleeping or doing something else productive!

She entered the kitchen and found a cup of tea waiting for her, courtesy of the house elves. She downed it quickly, feeling the burn in her throat as she gulped it down. Maybe if she drank it fast, the caffeine would work its way into her system faster.

She walked slowly out to the grand foyer where her mother was.

"I'm here mother."

"What took you so long dear?" Her mother asked, annoyed. "Never mind," she continued, not even giving Astoria a chance to reply before continuing on. "You'll just have to put on this dress, Merlin knows that you haven't bothered….what have you done?" Priscilla had turned around to see her daughter standing behind her, hair a mess, clothes rumpled, and dark circles under her eyes.

"Do you not care what other people think of you?" She shrieked mercilessly. "Did you get your eight hours of sleep last night?"

Astoria resisted rolling her eyes, instead lowering them to the ground to show her shame.

"I'm sorry, mother; I was a bit preoccupied with thoughts of Stephen last night." She said, and then held her breath. Sure enough, soon the lack of oxygen made her face flush, giving off the impression that she was blushing sweetly, like a girl in love. If there was one thing Astoria learned from her family, it was how to deceive others.

Her mother practically beamed. "Well, dear. I just knew it was a match made in heaven. Now look your loving mother in the eyes, sweetums. We'll perform some beauty spells on you and you'll look beautiful. Hurry and go put on this dress and we'll be on our way to our fitting. Madame Levine doesn't wait!" She thrust a dress in Astoria's arms.

Astoria trudged into the powder room just off the main foyer, undressing quickly and slipping the dress over her head. It wasn't an ugly dress, surprisingly. The chocolate brown day dress had an empire waist, and flowed down to just above her knees. She slipped on the delicate sandals her mother gave her and twirled in front of the mirror. Good, the dress had hidden her scar from sight, she didn't want another scene from her mother, which would end in tears and a beauty spell performed to cover up the scar.

She re-entered the foyer and saw Daphne now standing there with her mother, tapping her foot exasperatedly.

"Finally! Come on, the other girls will all be there by now!" Daphne demanded, grabbing Astoria tightly by the wrist.

The nauseating, dizzying sensation of apparating was still somewhat disorienting to Astoria as the three Greengrass women landed in Twilfit & Tattings, an upscale clothing boutique.

High pitched squeals and giggled caused Astoria's head to pound as her sister's friends greeted them each with a kiss, kiss on each cheek. Then they squealed and giggled some more as the dresses were brought out, one by one, and the squealed and giggled again as they all rushed off to try on their dresses.

If Astoria had known how much squealing and giggling would be occurring, she might have just ignored her mother when she yelled this morning. But of course, she was the maid of honour and therefore the only reason she would be allowed to miss a dress fitting would be if she was dead, or dying somewhere in the African desert.

Now that's somewhere she'd like to go someday, the African desert. It just seems so…foreign there. Astoria had never been outside of Europe and she was craving the sense of independence that visiting another continent would give her. But Pureblood teenage girls have no independence, not until they're married. But maybe her future husband….gah! She was starting to sound like Daph! So dependent on the flimsy hope of a _future husband!_ She shouldn't so eagerly accept a false expectation of the future: not everyone got married.

"Astoria! Try on your dress, dear!" Her mother shoved her 'lovingly' in the back and fake smiled at her as she spoke in a forced tone. Obviously, Priscilla had been trying to get her attention for some time now. It wasn't Astoria's fault that she hadn't been able to sleep and then consequently daydreamed throughout boring dress fittings! It was all his fault.

She rushed into the dressing room and threw on the dress as quickly as possible, stopping only to unceremoniously dig the fabric out from under itself as it twisted its way around her body. These ruffles were going to be the death of her.

She left the dressing room and heard the gasps of "oohs" and "ahhs" from the other bridesmaids. Knowing that these gasps of pleasure were only because they girls did not want to be subjected to wearing Astoria's particularly hideous gown, Astoria hid her grimace.

Instead she began to daydream again as Madame Levine attempted not to poke her with pins and needles. If she were in the African desert, she could breathe the dry air; feel the warmth of the sun on her back. She wouldn't need to cover up her scar because surely people in Africa wouldn't care if she had a scar on her back. But the only way she'd be able to make it to Africa, she'd need a husband. She sighed reluctantly, knowing that her mother would never allow her to leave her sight, let alone the continent, without a husband.

She opened her eyes as she heard the bell on the door chime, announcing the presence of another person in the store. It was as if he had been summoned, as he stood there awkwardly, waiting for Madame Levine to acknowledge him.

"If you could just wait a moment!" The elderly woman called. "I will just be a little longer with this dress. There are refreshments in the back."

And there he stood, in his blond haired, dark eyed glory, like a shining beacon. Stephen Cornfoot smiled at her sardonically as he recognized her and she noticed his eyebrows lift ever so slightly at the monstrosity of a dress she was currently entangled in. She gave him a slight pout and frown for emphasis and he smiled back at her warmly.

Of course! How had she not thought of him before? Her mother already approved of him, and he seemed genuinely nice. Besides, at the way this was going her mother was going to want her married off to him, anyhow.

"Of course, I just need to pick up robes. They should be under Cornfoot."

"Just a moment, young man, just a moment. I'm almost done!" Madame Levine called.

"Of course, Madame. My apologies." Stephen Cornfoot apologized like the well-bred Pureblood man he was raised to behave like.

As soon as Priscilla Greengrass had heard the name Cornfoot, her single-pureblood-man-that-could-possibly-marry-my-daughter radar came on and she whipped her head around.

"Stephen, darling! It's been so long!" She walked over to him and greeted him kindly.

"Hello, Mrs. Greengrass, fancy seeing you here." He replied cordially, kissing her cheek.

"Oh, yes, well Daphne's wedding is just around the corner and all the girls are here to get fitted for their bridesmaid dresses. Just don't let anyone know you've already seen them, don't want anyone getting jealous." Her mother had lowered her voice in a jokingly conspiratorial way and Astoria just about cringed. Right, because any twenty-something year old male would care about already seeing the bridesmaid dresses.

"Of course I won't," Stephen Cornfoot winked at her mother, repeating the conspiratorial tone her mother held.

And that was when Astoria realized that Stephen Cornfoot was perfect. Her mother adored him, and if Astoria hooked Stephen, well she could do anything she desired.

"There, dearie, you're all done." Madame Levine stood up and patted Astoria on the head.

She winced internally; she always hated it when people she didn't know patted her on the head. She supposed it was a strange pet peeve thing she had.

She sauntered over to her mother and Stephen, who were still in conversation.

"Hello, Stephen. It's so nice to see you again." She said, smiling brilliantly.

"Oh, Astoria, are you done already?" Her mother questioned rhetorically. "Well, I must go help Daphne get into her dress, it's a nightmare to put on and we can't have the bride-to-be hurting herself before the wedding!" If one hadn't been a Pureblood, they mightn't have realized the slight widening of her eyes and the light squeeze on Astoria's arm that meant 'capture his heart and you could have a husband on your hands!' look that Priscilla Greengrass gave her daughter. If you had blinked, you would have missed the whole exchange.

"Do you like my dress?" Astoria questioned, twirling around for special effect.

"Ah…well…it's quite….well it's something." Stephen stammered, trying to find the correct compliment.

Astoria smiled secretively and leaned in conspiratorially, just like her mother, and whispered, "It's awful, I know. Just don't tell my mother or sister." She winked and straightened up, back to her original height.

"It's not that bad." Stephen disagreed feebly.

"No, it's quite terrible, a monstrosity, an eyesore, an atrocity!" Astoria giggled lightly, playing with words.

Stephen visibly perked up a bit. "A barbarity." He winked.

She had forgotten he was a Ravenclaw too. It was a nice change from the vapid people she usually held conversations with. She had forgotten how much she missed her Ravenclaw friends.

"A barbarity." Astoria sighed dramatically. "I'm going to walk down the aisle in a dress that has so many terrible adjectives it would take a thesaurus to go through them all."

"Here you are, Lord Cornfoot," Madame Levine interrupted. "They are already paid for, of course. I hope you enjoy your new dress robes."

"Thank you, Madame Levine." He said considerately as the elderly witch trotted away, toward Daphne who was just now exiting the dressing room.

"And Astoria?" He said, glancing in her direction.

She directed her full attention to him immediately.

"Not even in a dress as barbaric as that one would you ever look ugly." He said with confidence as he strode evenly out of the boutique.

Astoria sighed, feeling like she was on cloud nine. Perhaps Stephen might be The One for her. He didn't seem at all put out by the fact that she had plead a flimsy excuse of unhealthiness to avoid his company at their last meeting, but then again, he didn't know she was faking the illness. And he just might be her ticket out of this hellhole she called her home.

But something stopped her. She didn't know what it was, but something wasn't right.

And as the bell chimed again, informing the occupants of the store that yet another person had entered, and Draco Malfoy looked around the shop in horror (well, Astoria assumed it was horror but she wasn't quite certain because his face never changed), caught her eye, and then practically ran out store, Astoria didn't know what she thought.

She just knew that she saw those eyes again. And again she wondered what on earth had made them so sad. And all thoughts of Stephen Cornfoot left her head.

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><p><strong>AN: So, another chapter. Enlighten me: what do you think? I hope it was as fun for you to read as it was for me to write. What do you think of Stephen Cornfoot? I know there hasn't been much Draco/Astoria interaction yet, but that will all come in due time...And yes, this is still a Draco/Astoria story for those of you who weren't quite sure.**

**Anyways, thank you all so much for your reviews, they really kept me writing! **

**Let me know what you think!**

**~wwccd**


	3. The Book Store

"If there was ever a time for fake happiness, it would be now." Astoria mused. She was sitting outside in the manor gardens, perched on a small bench beside the blooming flowers. She reached over, and plucked a rose, and fingered the red, velvety petals. Her cat mewed beside her at the sudden loss of her attention; she had been petting Marse before she took up the flower.

Her mother and sister had set off about an hour ago to do "wifely things" or some other sort of nonsense that unified the two of them and left Astoria out of their secret society. Not that Astoria cared, nor was she in any way disappointed. Her father was out of town on business, naturally, which left her alone in the manor. The minute her mother and sister had left she had immediately changed into her comfortable clothes and ran outside, inhaling the crisp, clean air of the English countryside. The scenery was beautiful; everywhere she looked there was green vegetation and blooming flowers. It was slightly sunny but there were just enough clouds lining the sky to remind her that the weather could change in an instant.

So now Astoria sat, reveling in her solitary state, and musing aloud to her cat. She supposed it was a bit pathetic that her cat was the only living thing she could speak to and, for the moment, she dearly missed her Ravenclaw friends. But she ignored the slight pang in her chest as she thought of them. That time in her life had passed. She still wrote to them, yes, but she would never see them as frequently again. And she was certain, after everything that happened that they would not see her in the same light.

They had jobs now, anyhow, unlike her. They hadn't understood the choice she had made though she hoped desperately that they still loved her despite it. She supposed they did, as she had just received a letter from Sienna Fawcett, informing her that her boyfriend, Michael Corner had just proposed.

Sienna had been one of Astoria's good friends in Ravenclaw and yet she had probably met corner all of one time. He was not a pureblood; in fact, neither was Sienna, so neither of them were in her current social circle. Corner had seemed nice enough, Astoria thought reflectively. He was about two years older than the girls, which put him in Daphne's year. Not that Daphne would ever have had any kind o fcontact with anyone who was not a Slytherin.

So now both her sister and her old school friend were getting married. What the hell was with all these bloody weddings? Astoria pondered this for a moment longer before she came to a reasonable conclusion.

"I think that's why so many people are getting married, Marse." Astoria continued talking, speaking her thoughts out loud the way she was never able to do with her mother around. "With weddings, everyone can sing and laugh and dance...next thing you know there will be children! And soon the next generation will be able to actually be happy and everyone can just forget about the blasted past! Yes, that must be it, that must be the solution. These weddings are just shows, performances if you will. The brides and grooms just actors, playing a part. Who can fake happiness the most?" Astoria was beginning to feel immensely profound, like she had just had some kind of epiphany when she looked to her left and saw Marse yawn, stretch, and then jump off the bench, landing lithely on the ground. Now even her cat wouldn't listen to her.

Astoria sighed, breathing in the crisp air and then expelling it was a large gust. Well, she thought irritably, she'd just have to make her own company.

Strictly speaking, she wasn't allowed to leave the manor. But, then again, strictly speaking, she hadn't always been a supporter of pointless rules. Pureblood young girls have limits, as her mother liked to constantly remind her, but what her mother didn't know, wouldn't hurt her—it never had in the past.

Astoria scurried inside quickly; the sooner she left the sooner she could come back and not get caught. She threw on an outfit that her mother had once deemed "presentable" and grabbed her wand. She hesitated, just for a moment, and then spun determinedly, throwing herself into the air.

The uncomfortable feeling that always came after apparating settled in her stomach as she appeared in Diagon Alley. It was probably not the most secluded place to be, she thought, but surely the large crowd would engulf her so that she didn't stand out. She did hope that her mother and sister's business hadn't taken them here—though the doubted it. The thought of her mother voluntarily spending time in Diagon Alley was laughable. She often preferred much more upscale stores. But Astoria had a distinct weakness for books, and there was no place she'd rather buy them than Flourish and Blotts.

Flourish and Blotts had practically every book imaginable, and if they didn't have it (by some strange, unfortunate strike of bad luck), they could order it for you. The shelves reached from the ground all the way to the high ceilings and were crammed with every book conceivable: big books, small books, and books that bit, books that growled at you, books that sang, and books that became invisible—there was no limit to what you might find. The customers were just as unique as the books—sometimes they even got into "scuffles" that had to be broken up by the assistant manager. The assistant manager had a difficult job, Astoria noted as she saw the young man standing on a tall, teetering ladder, sweating profusely as he stocked the books. These books must be of the impenetrable sort, otherwise he wouldn't have had to put his life in danger, just to set them on the shelves.

Across the store Astoria recognized a vaguely familiar figure. She was running into him practically everywhere these days, and if her mother had been actually been aware of her current whereabouts, Astoria would have accused her of intentionally orchestrating all of the random meetings.

Stephen Cornfoot walked slowly down an aisle of books, running his index finger along the books lined on the shelf as he glanced at their titles. He looked determinedly concentrated, as if he were looking for a specific book instead of just browsing the shelves. Astoria shouldn't have been surprised: Stephen was a fellow Ravenclaw; he was bound to share her passion for reading.

Suddenly Astoria was struck with a thought: Why not have a little fun? It had been so long since she had last been released from her mother's chokehold, she might as well live her freedom to the fullest. She quietly made her way over to the section for the "Household Emergencies" books, just a section away from Stephen in the "Rare Magical Items" book section. She slowly made her way over to him, until she was just metres away. She pretended to be absolutely fascinated by the novels in front of her, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw him glance in her direction. Perfect. She smirked inwardly, now she would know just how interested he was.

Just as she expected, he slowly began walking towards her. But just as he was nearing her, she sighed lightly and began to move away. Teasing him would prove to be fun, she thought delightedly.

As she continued to walk away from him, she was surprised that he hadn't called out o he yet, but a nonchalant glance behind her assured her that he was still following her. She smirked devilishly, and made her way over to the "Romance novels" section of the shop. She started down the aisle, running her finger along the spines of the books, just like he had done. She saw him start down on the other side, copying her hand movements. The coupe slowly made their way toward each other until,

"Oh!" Astoria exclaimed as she lightly bumped into him. "I'm sorry; I wasn't watching where I was…Stephen?" She cut herself off abruptly as she pretended to just recognize the man standing beside her.

"Hello," he smiled, his dark eyes shining with warmth.

"What are you doing in the Romance section?" She teased him mercilessly.

Instead of looking flustered, like she had expected him to act, he grinned down at her confidently and said, "You were here."

"Well that's a good enough reason" Astoria smiled winningly at him.

Stephen chuckled and looked around the shop briefly.

"Are your sister and mother here?"

Astoria raised her eyebrows in disbelief. She was just beginning to think he was alright, too. Her sister and mother would never step foot in a book shop, much less in Diagon Alley. Though she supposed he didn't know them as well as she did.

"Heavens, no. Flourish and Blotts is not a place for women of their high-standing calibre" she recited, in a posh voice.

Stephen looked torn between wanting to laugh and trying to remain proper, so he settled with a cough-laugh. "Well then, are they somewhere else around Diagon Alley?"

"No. I'm out on my own this afternoon." The girl replied.

"Is that safe?"

She raised one eyebrow at him condescendingly. "Perfectly so. I don't believe I have even a scratch on my body so far."

"I just meant..." Stephen's voice faltered as he glanced around the store. "People are dangerous."

Astoria scoffed. "Voldemort's dead." She declared, perhaps a little too loudly as Stephen shushed her.

"Shh!" he glanced around the store again, but it seemed that no one had heard her comment.

"I'm only stating a fact, Stephen. Many people already know that, it's not like it's classified information. Actually, I'm sure most of the people in this very shop celebrated his death. I know I did."

"Astoria!" He sounded like her mother, now- scolding, almost. She was a bit disappointed in him; did he really think he had the right?

"I only meant that your mother must be worried about you." He clarified.

Oh. Well, if he truly knew her mother he would know that that was probably not possible. All would be forgiven anyway as soon as Priscilla heard that Astoria had run into Stephen.

"She may be, but I doubt she'll notice I'm missing as she and my sister are currently on an outing involving 'wifely things' that I was not permitted to take part in as I am not a wife nor am I a wife-to-be."

Stephen raised his eyebrows at her. "Wifely things?" He asked, confused.

"No idea what that means, either. They won't be back for ages so I decided to venture down here to get a book.

"Well, let's get you back then. Come on, I'll take you home." He offered, trying to act chivalrously.

Astoria frowned slightly. Stephen seemed a bit like a goody two shoes. Reluctantly her mind fluttered to her thoughts of mere days ago, when she was considering Stephen as a prospect for her future husband. The thought crossed her mind that maybe he wouldn't make the best husband for her. It seemed that he would be constantly trying to protect her; he would never let her go down the street, let alone to Africa. She sighed but didn't rule out Stephen completely, as of now he was her best bet.

"I do not think that is necessary." She said coldly.

"Your mother gave you her whole life, I'm sure you can go back to the house where she things you are so that she's not worried when she gets home."

Astoria was growing more irritated by the moment.

"I've lived my mother's life five times over. I've lived more than her, endured more than her, put up with more than her. I can take care of myself. Don't you forget that I was right there in Hogwarts during your seventh year. I was two years younger than you. I can handle myself." Astoria spat venomously at the young man in front of her. She hated being treated like a toddler.

"And you have the scar to prove it," he retorted. "I was there."

"I'll see you around." She said shortly, and turned on her heel to leave.

"Astoria, wait!" she heard him call behind her.

She was having none of it. She didn't like being reminded of her scar, she didn't like being spoken to like a two year old. She would talk to him when he wasn't such a controlling asshat. So much for a relaxing day without her mother and sister.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Not much to say about this chapter. There's no Draco in it, but that will come in time...**

**Let me know what you think!**

**~wwccd**


	4. The Baby Shower

If Astoria was forced to go to another one of these ridiculous "Pureblood Society" parties, she was going to scream. Perhaps throwing a fit might be a bit more effective, or maybe even faking an illness, if it came down to it, but that would probably just upset Priscilla further and then Astoria would be forced to attend even more of these horrifically dull events. And now, Stephen isn't here to be a sufficient distraction.

This is a baby shower. Honestly, if she weren't forced to be here, Astoria would probably have never stepped foot inside a baby shower. She didn't have anything against kids, exactly; in fact, she had long ago resigned herself to the fact that she would have kids one day. But as the day drew nearer and nearer, she found herself resenting that fact more and more. Perhaps she was a bit selfish. But now Astoria sat, surrounded by hormonal women sharing birthing stories and nanny secrets (in other words, what nanny to hire). The thought of raising your own child? Preposterous!

"Alfred just wasn't helpful at all." Drawled one of the women. "Hire a nanny and get back in the marriage bed—that's all they care about! If I didn't then he would have found somebody else!"

Astoria winced at the cruel reality of this. Men can do whatever they want, and if that 'whatever' extends to a 'whomever', it happens to be perfectly acceptable. Almost expected, even. Sometimes it amazes her how much women put up with.

"Octavio had a mistress" Another woman added her input. "So I used the toenail growing hex. Hexed him every day for months on end, a couple times a day when he met with her—made him think that it was bad luck to cheat on me. "The woman smirked, reveling in her ingeniousness. However, the other women around the room gave her disgusted looks and exchanged glances with one another, deciding to ignore her.

Astoria smiled to herself secretly admiring the woman. Elizabeth Vaisey had been of "questionable heritage" before she married her husband Octavio Vaisey. Now of course, she was invited to parties and treated like an almost-equal, with a few behind-her-back whispers when she said strange things, which happened quite often.

Astoria decided that after that little stunt she quite liked Elizabeth Vaisey and vowed to remember her funny little tricks if ever something similar were to happen in her own future marriage.

It was then, while glancing around the room, that Astoria noticed Narcissa Malfoy. She was sitting by herself on a couch, her hands completely still in her lap, her posture stick straight, staring directly in front of her. Her eyes were focused on something in particular, but from her vantage point, Astoria couldn't quite make out what it was.

She was truly isolated from the group of Pureblood women. Though whether she was being shunned or whether she had chosen her isolation, Astoria wasn't quite certain.

And then Astoria was taken back to the days after the battle. Everyone was in chaos, confusion, scrambling to figure out what exactly had happened. One moment, Harry Potter was dead and the next he was fighting Voldemort in the middle of the Great Hall. And then Harry had given his statement, giving his pardon to Narcissa and Draco Malfoy.

The world was in shock: Why them? And then, somehow, word had gotten out: Narcissa Malfoy had saved Harry Potter.

This woman had lied to Voldemort,. She was the key reason that he was gone, but she did it out of purely selfish reasons. She wanted her son to live. And so people shunned her, she was a turncoat, a liar, a deceiver. But wouldn't have others that were put in her same position do exactly the same thing?

Astoria respected Narcissa Malfoy. She decided that if one were to look at the situation logically, one could even conclude that Narcissa Malfoy was brave. She lied to one of the most evil, powerful men in the world and one lie brought about his downfall.

If Astoria was honest with herself, she would wonder whether Draco was even really worth saving. Though she supposed that his mother was certainly biased. Astoria herself had encountered him before the chaos, while wandering the halls of Hogwarts. He had come off as rude, proud, obnoxious, and quite frankly he acted like a spoiled brat.

But everyone saw the changes that he went through during his later years at Hogwarts. Gone was the obnoxious boy that everyone knew and detested, and here was the ghost version of his former self. He was thinner, with dark circles under his eyes, he isolated himself from the attention of his peers that he had so craved earlier.

What kind of parents would allow their son to be put in such a situation?

Astoria studied Narcissa Malfoy carefully, but she barely seemed to be breathing, let alone moving.

They must have been scared. The "Dark Lord" had taken over their home, threatened their family, they would have done anything to keep themselves alive. Voldemort was a twisted monster—he fed off of fear and fake adoration. He used love as a weapon relentlessly. It would only be logical that they were frightened. They loved their family and would do anything to protect themselves. Wouldn't the average family do the same?

Astoria pondered this for a few moments. Would she lay down her life for her family? She wasn't quite sure. The Weasleys had, and would do it again. But her family was different from most; they didn't have the intense bond that most families had. In fact, she often felt like a stranger living in her own home. The Malfoys were lucky to have the sort of bond that glued them together, that made them care about the other's wellbeing. That was their greatest strength, but quite possibly their greatest weakness as well.

Astoria was torn from her thoughts as a collective giggle was given by the ladies as the next present was opened. And suddenly, emboldened by her thoughts, Astoria stood up gracefully and went to sit next to the unmoving Narcissa Malfoy.

Mrs. Malfoy didn't move as Astoria sat next to her. If she was even aware of her presence, she didn't show it. She continued to sit stock still, staring straight ahead. Astoria decided to mimic her motions, sitting as still as she had always been taught to sit, staring directly ahead. It was then that she noticed that Narcissa Malfoy was staring at a clock.

It sat above the fireplace, on the mantle and was perhaps one of the most delicately ornate clocks that Astoria had ever seen. Its golden hands shone under the candlelight, reflecting upon the walls of the mansion. Even the hands of the clock were gold and they moved slowly, one by the minute, one by the hour as most clocks do. Time seemed to slow down, just as it always did as you were looking at a clock. The minutes ticked by slowly and the hands seemed almost as unmoving as the ones in Astoria's lap.

And so Astoria Greengrass and Narcissa Malfoy sat, side by side, watching time tick by, unnoticed by the rest of the party.

And then he came in. _Him: _the reason why there were all sitting here today. Whether he knew it or not, liked it or not, he had saved them all. He was the reason harry got back to the castle, it was his wand that Harry used to kill Voldemort.

He stepped out of the fireplace nonchalantly, and dusted himself off. Just his mere presence was enough to tear Astoria's dedicated eyes from the golden timepiece, but not his mother's. She stared, completely unperturbed by all the noise and the sudden appearance of her son.

His grey eyes were cold and calculating as he approached the women, though Astoria liked to think that if he were capable of showing any emotion, he would have looked surprised. But perhaps she flattered herself too much.

Narcissa stood slowly; apparently she had realized the presence of her son at one point and she walked over to Ophelia Vergbound and kissed her on both cheeks and then went over to her son. Astoria had been watching her, but as soon as Narcissa reached Draco, Astoria couldn't quite help but look at the man. He was staring at her so intensely that in almost made her flinch. She only kept her clam composure because of her Pureblood etiquette.

She tried to look into his eyes but this time, she didn't see that haunted look that she had seen previously. She saw nothing. If eyes really are the window to the soul, his grey orbs were like steel shutters, effectively blocking everyone and everything, every single emotion, out. He then nodded at her, and if she had blinked she would have missed it. It was a quick inclination of his head, and then he escorted his mother to the fireplace, his hand on the small of her back as he guided her frail figure.

Astoria glanced back at the clock, realizing form the placement of the golden hands that only a few minutes had elapsed, though it felt like so much longer.

Warm breath in her ear awoke Astoria from her dreamlike state. "Susan Cornfoot is here." Her mother whispered hurriedly. "Put a smile on your face and come meet her."

Immediately, Astoria plastered a smile on her face, hoping against hope that Stephen had not had a conversation with his mother recently. She decided not to say anything to her mother as it seemed foolish to inform her that she might have already ruined the possibility of marriage already.

"Lady Cornfoot, this is my youngest daughter, Astoria Greengrass." My mother introduced me, pushing me forward slightly.

Susan Cornfoot looked every bit like the stately lady she was born to be. Her dark robes flowed around her beautifully and her dark hair and eyes reminded Astoria so much of Stephen. She had the hint of smile lines on her pale face, and her slightly rosy cheeks gave Astoria the impression that this woman was as different from her mother as one could get. Her presumptions were proved correct as Susan Cornfoot kissed both of her cheeks warmly, even smiling at her as she greeted her.

"Hello, Astoria. It is so nice to finally meet you. I have heard much about you from Stephen." She said, her voice like soft velvet.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well. Forgive me if I offend you, but Stephen has yet to mention much about you." Astoria replied wittily, a light smile on her face.

Susan Cornfoot laughed graciously, and Astoria found herself almost sagging with relief. The woman had a sense of humor. If perhaps Stephen decided to get his head out of his arse and into the present time when women weren't thought of as objects, then Astoria might even consider marrying him, just for his mother. Having a mother-in-law like Susan Cornfoot could prove to be rather lovely, certainly the situation could be much worse.

"I wouldn't expect Stephen to speak of his mother while he was in the presence of such a beautiful young lady like yourself."

Astoria found herself blushing slightly at the compliment.

"You flatter me, Lady Cornfoot, but your thoughts are accurate. Stephen and I often converse over extremely important things like the dictionary and other important books."

"Sounds like a conversation after my own heart." Susan Cornfoot smiled.

Priscilla Greengrass's head swiveled between the two, trying to figure out what she was missing aas her daughter conversed and joked with one of the most important women in the Pureblood society.

"Well, I must be leaving." Lady Cornfoot said reluctantly. "However, Astoria, I certainly hope that somewhere down the road we attend another one of these events together. Perhaps with you as the main even instead of Ophelia Vergbound.?' She leaned forward and kissed Astoria once on each cheek, pausing to whisper into her ear. "He said I would like you."

And then with a swish of her robes, Lady Cornfoot was out of the room.

Astoria stood frozen in horror. Had Stephen's mother just insinuated that Astoria would be in this similar situation, at a baby shower, somewhere down the road? Did she just say that Astoria would bear her grandchildren?

Priscilla smiled beatifically at Astoria, patted her gently on the arm, and made her way voer to Ophelia to give her wishes.

Astoria stood still; it seemed that the marriage issue was going to be coming up sooner than she thought. And if she wasn't careful she might just be married off to Stephen Cornfoot, who wasn't exactly gracing the top of her "Favourite People in the World" list right now. Something was going to have to be done about this. Before it was too late.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: A little more information about the Malfoys! And a bit more of Draco...not my favourite chapter to write but it was necessary for the plot later on. **

**Let me know what you think!**

**~wwccd**


	5. The Tea Time Visitors

"Astoria! For Merlin's sake wake up! Mum has been calling you for ages!"

"Wha—?" Astoria grumbled sleepily, finally registering in shock that her blond sister was actually in her bedroom. Back when the two were younger, they had been closer and often frequented each other's bedrooms. But that was back when the thrill of sleeping over in each other's rooms was still fresh, and before Daph had started at Hogwarts. Daphne hadn't been in her room in years.

"Get up! I swear it's like you're not excited that your future mother-in-law is just downstairs!"

"Who?"

Even in her befuddled state, Astoria realised that she was quickly getting on her sister's nerves. Daph was standing in front of her wardrobe, looking through the outfits closely, muttering under her breath. Astoria continued to lie in bed, watching her with both parts confusion and amusement. Daphne and Astoria had drastically different styles. Daphne preferred the trendier, hip styles and Astoria was far more classically inclined.

"For Merlin's sake, make yourself presentable—you're hair is a mess and the bags under your eyes are massive. Here," she gestured to an outfit, "put this on and hurry up! I'll go distract them for a little while longer. Pretend that you're coming from the garden! The Cornfoots will be aghast if they find you have actually been sleeping this late!"

And with that last statement, her sister swooped out of the room as quickly as she had come, only pausing momentarily to admire her beautiful diamond engagement ring as it caught the sunlight.

Astoria stood up wearily. What on earth were the Cornfoots doing here? Was it just Lady Cornfoot? Was Stephen with her? After all the words that she and Stephen had shared outside of Flourish and Blotts, she found it hard to believe that he would ever want to see her again. Surely, he wanted a nice little pureblood girl who would do his every bidding. Surely he no longer wanted to see her. But maybe Stephen wasn't here at all. Maybe Lady and Lord Cornfoot were just here to visit her mother.

Her father was still out of town on business, as per usual, and it was true that formal visits usually required both spouses to be present but…

Astoria shook herself from her reverie and instead listened for the slight sounds of voices wafting up from the sitting room. Sure enough, after holding her breath for a few moments, she heard the foreign voices and quickly jumped into action, grabbing her wand muttering incantations until she finally looked presentable.

She faced herself in the mirror, admiring her handiwork. Her long dark hair hung down her back, glistening in the faint sunlight. The bags under her eyes had all but disappeared, only faintly outlining her eye socket. The flowy dress that Daphne had selected for her to where was white and caused her to look serene, like she had indeed only been just outside, enjoying the warmer summer weather.

Astoria summoned the flowers from her bedside table, red tulips, one of her favourites, She hurriedly jogged out of her room, rushing towards the sitting room, cursing her short legs for the hundredth time and only stopping once she was outside the sitting room, desperately trying to catch her breath and clutching the beautiful bouquet in her hands.

Four heads turned in her direction as she entered with as much grace as she could muster. He was here!

"Please forgive me, I was out in the garden, tending to the flowers." She lifted the bouquet as if to show them proof.

"Oh my! They are lovely, my dear." Lady Cornfoot, dressed simply in a pair of light green every day robes, sat beside her son on the couch reserved for 'important visitors' according to her mother.

Speaking of Astoria's mother, she glanced over to see her mum quickly give a quick up and down before nodding in approval of Astoria's state of being. Daphne sat by impassively, staring at the clock on the wall, impatiently waiting for Theodore to come, as he was expected after work.

"Thank you," Astoria smiled widely at Lady Cornfoot gratefully, "tulips are one of my favourites." She fought the urge to courtesy at the stately woman in her sitting room, because for some reason it seemed oddly appropriate in this situation.

"Oh, Astoria is always keeping our garden looking beautiful. We're very lucky that someone in the family inherited my mother's green thumb, otherwise our garden would really be in a state."

It was quite possibly the first time that Astoria had heard her mother give her a quasi compliment. Her mother had always preferred Daphne, and everyone knew it.

"I'd love to see the garden." Stephen Cornfoot finally broke his silence. His eyes hadn't left the young woman in front of him since she had entered the room. "It seems you have put a lot of work into it and someone should appreciate it."

Both of the older women in the room seemed to beam with happiness; his interruption was undoubtedly masterfully manipulated by the two complacent women sharing tea in the Greengrass sitting room. How long had they been waiting for him to show some interest in Astoria?

"Oh, Astoria, do show him around. We've probably been boring the poor young man to tears with gossip of our dear friends. I'm sure he'd much prefer your company." Priscilla Greengrass insisted.

To be quite frank, it was the last thing Astoria wanted to do. The last time she and Stephen Cornfoot had spent time alone together, they had exchanged words, and not very kind words, at that. He had acted like a cad, and she, an immature child. It was a wonder that he was sitting in front of her today, acting like he was seemingly still interested in her.

"It will give him a little break from the company of his mother as well!" His mother chimed in helpfully, a small grin on her face.

That was when Astoria knew that it wasn't as much a suggestion, as a command. And so silently, Stephen stood up and joined her at the doorway from which she had never moved and silently the two of them headed off towards the garden.

Astoria wished she could say that the silence was awkward, but more fell into the category of companionable as their footsteps echoed along the stone passageway of her house. They walked almost perfectly in sync, despite his significantly longer legs and her admittedly quicker gait. The silence stretched on until they had finally reached the garden, at which point Astoria began discussing all the flowers she could see. She was just about to feel like she was writing a dissertation on baby's breath when he finally interrupted her.

"I'm sorry."

She halted, cutting herself off mid-sentence and stared at him in wonder.

"What?"

"About what I said the last time we spoke. I was out of line, and I apologise."

She bit her lip to stop herself from saying something mean and churlish like 'yes, you were completely out of line, bastard' and instead settled for a small smile and demure glance at him before saying,

"Don't worry about it."

"No, seriously."

She giggled. "Stephen, really. It's fine. I was more than a bit out of line as well. I tend to do that occasionally. I'm still a young girl at heart."

He smile shyly at her, his dark eyes looking at her fondly.

"My mum slapped me over the head when she'd found out what I'd said."

That really made her laugh, she threw her head back and her eyes crinkled with joy as she positively cackled at him. He blushed slightly and she noticed as her glee was finally reduced to random chuckles and giggles.

"You told your mum?"

His cheeks turned an even duskier pink and she grinned at his absolute cuteness. Just the other day she was writing him off, just a few moments ago she was calling him a cad in her head! But Stephen Cornfoot had proved her wrong, and at the very least she decided they could form a beautiful friendship. At the very most however….she imagined herself standing up next to him, he in black dress robes, she in a beautiful white dress, surrounded by red tulips, a ring on her finger, at sunset.

But that was silly. She was getting ahead of herself. It didn't matter that she had been secretly planning her wedding since she was young enough to know what a wedding was. It didn't matter that she often thought of the wedding more than the actual marriage (something that she still wasn't sure that she wanted) but it slightly mortified and scared her at how easily she could imagine her future with this man.

Her mother would be so proud to know that she had finally gotten into her head. A wedding fantasy with Stephen Cornfoot, really. In the past the wedding had more often than not ben centered on the floral arrangements, the bridesmaids, dresses, and the set up than the actual groom. She had never really put a face on the man that would stand beside her, except to assure her imagination that he was, indeed, handsome.

"She's kind of my best friend," Stephen muttered ashamedly, looking away from her.

"That's adorable!"

Astoria nearly squealed with joy. Men who loved their mothers were always a weakness for her.

He still refused to make eye contact, and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand embarrassedly but managed to mutter a quiet,

"Shut up."

"No seriously, I love that. I wish I were best friends with my mother."

She thought back to when she had first met Susan Cornfoot, how the lady had leaned in and whispered in her ear 'He told me I would like you.' It made her long to have that kind of closeness with someone, anyone really.

"It's kind of embarrassing, really." He countered, "but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my mum. She was the one that insisted we have an impromptu tea here today, so I could get the chance to apologise. She's amazing."

"She really is. I mean, I don't know her that well, but she's been very kind to me the few times that I have met her."

"She really likes you, you know. She thinks you have spunk."

Astoria giggled and looked away, grabbing a cluster of baby's breath and pulling it from earth, intending to make a beautiful bouquet for the lady in question.

"I like her as well, we seem to have the same sense of humor, which is always nice at those dry events that we so often attend. They can be torture if you don't have a friend to keep you company."

He groaned in response. "Oh, I know. I've accompanied my mum a few times just for the sake of it and I nearly ran out of there several times. I don't know how she does it."

The two companions talked for a while longer, and the sun began to slowly set in the sky before they made their way back inside the Greengrass Manor. Despite her first reservations, Astoria found herself enjoying the time she had spent with Stephen—they rarely stopped talking, they had discussed books and Hogwarts times (excluding any inflammatory subjects, of course), even a little bit of quidditch and flowers—favourite things of each, respectively. She enjoyed hearing his opinions on certain events and loved the way he laughed so easily.

Stephen was a nice man; imperfect and slightly judgmental, but wholly a good guy. And someone that, ultimately, Astoria could see herself becoming very close with. As the two entered the sitting room again, they saw that another person had joined the sitting party.

Theodore Nott sat next to Daphne, her hand clasped around his thigh as he stared off into the distance. Not for the first time, Astoria wished she was gifted in Legillimency, she was certain that the inside of her future brother-in-law's mind was fascinating.

His dark hair contrasted her sister's fair halo and she found herself smiling at their graceful contentment. He would be a welcome, comforting presence in her family. Perhaps finally calming the rifts between the three girls that were so often together that they ended up squabbling.

"Oh, dear, Priscilla, I'm sure we have managed to overstay our welcome!" Susan Cornfoot leapt to her feet, starting Priscilla from her almost dozing state.

"It was wonderful of you to stop by, Susan. We must do this again sometime!" Priscilla exclaimed excitedly, as if they had never stopped talking, not even once. She acted as if the two were best friends instead of co-conspirators to get their children happily married.

Astoria was not blind; she knew this was a set-up. But she could enjoy the positive attention whilst it lasted, at least.

"Here you go, Lady Cornfoot, I made this bouquet for you with the help of your son," she handed the beautiful bouquet to Stephen's mother and smiled as she caught Stephen's amused yet fond glance.

He must have seen that she was slightly sucking up to his mother, but she honestly could not stop it. She enjoyed both of the Cornfoots' presence too much to get on their bad side by behaving improperly.

"Astoria, dear, why don't you join me for dinner later this week?" Lady Cornfoot questioned innocently. "We would love to have you by our manor, especially after you have so wonderfully entertained our son in yours."

Again, she fought the urge to curtsey. It was as if being in the presence of Lady Cornfoot was like being in the presence of muggle royalty that she had read so much about.

"If you insist," she said charmingly, "I would love to."

"Oh I most absolutely do! Stephen will come round to pick you up, let's say on Wednesday? We need to give our cooks the proper amount of preparation time!"

"That sounds absolutely wonderful, Susan!" Priscilla interrupted, "Our Wednesday was going to be dreadfully boring for Astoria anyway, Theodore, Daphne and I were going to go over wedding plans, yet again. You'll be doing her a favour!"

So it was decided that Stephen would pick Astoria up at approximately 6 o'clock sharp on Wednesday night and she would dine with the Cornfoots that evening. Astoria was nearly positive that her mother had just made up the wedding planning plans, but was too excited about the prospect of getting out of the house without a chaperone to really care too much.

As the Cornfoots stepped into the fireplace and quickly left with a flash of green, Astoria looked around and caught the knowing smiles of the three remaining people in the sitting room.

Decidedly ignoring them, she walked off to her room, humming along the way and fully intending to start the book that Stephen had recommended to her and perhaps even finish it by the time Wednesday came around.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay...So I know it's been forever. Seriously, almost two years now, which is completely unacceptable. But I finished Girl Behind the Curtain and then I thought I was leaving and then I lost my motivation...and all of these excuses are really crappy, of which I am fully aware. However, I really do love this story. It is so fun for me to write about Scorpius' parents for a change-and I promise, there is more Draco coming up! I hope that you enjoyed this update as much as I enjoy writing and I hope to be updating more frequently from now on...**

**As always, let me know what you think! And thank you for not abandoning the story! :)**

**~wwccd**


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